With Dan McFarlane’s departure Assistant Coach Dan Soper named a young team for the United Rugby clash with Dragons at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday night.

Ulster got off to a flyer, with Will Addison‘s touchdown in the right corner. John Cooney‘s conversion from the touchline gave Ulster a 7-0 lead, after 5 minutes.

Unfortunately, the good work was undone when the Dragon’s James Benjamin scored from a driving maul. Will Reed‘s conversion tied the game at 7-7, after 11 minutes.

After that it was all Ulster for the rest of the 1^st half. Tries from Mike Lowry, 18 and 33 minutes and Harry Sheridan, 30 minutes, all converted by Cooney had Ulster 28-7 up at the break.

The 2^nd half was a mixed bag. Tries by David McCann, 57 and 75 minutes and a Nick Timoney try, after 72 minutes, all converted by Cooney, were countered by Dragons tries by Matthew Screech, 52 minutes, Brodie Coghlan 65 minutes, a conversion by Reed and a penalty try to leave the final score 49-26 in Ulster’s favour.

Ulster will be pleased with the attacking display but be concerned by their defensive frailties.

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